Abstract
In this study, an application of the laser-melting deposition additive manufacturing technique as a welding method has been studied for the laser welding (LW) of AISI 304 stainless steel, specifically 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm thick sheets. The welding was carried out without and with filler material. Inconel 718 powder particles were used as filler material in the second case. A series of experiments were designed by changing the process parameters to identify the effect of operating conditions on the weld width, depth, and height. The welds were examined through metallographic experiments performed at various cross-sections to identify the defects and pores. All the deposited welds were passed through a customized mini-focus X-ray system to analyze the weld uniformities. The optimal operating conditions were determined for 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm sheets for the LW with and without filler material. It was found that laser power, laser scanning speed, powder flow rate, and helium to argon gases mixture-control the weld bead dimensions and quality. X-ray analyses showed that the optimal operating conditions gave the least peak value of non-uniformity in the laser welds. This study opens a new window for laser welding via additive manufacturing with X-ray monitoring.
Highlights
Laser welding (LW) combines metallic or thermoplastic pieces via a laser beam [1].The laser beam delivers the focused heat, allowing for narrow and deep welds
The laser welding of AISI 304 stainless steel 1.6 mm thick sheets were carried out using the continuous wave (CW) solid-state Nd: YAG laser [5]
This study focused on determining the optimal laser welding parameters for AISI 304 stainless steel (SS) sheets’ butt-welding
Summary
Laser welding (LW) combines metallic or thermoplastic pieces via a laser beam [1]. The laser beam delivers the focused heat, allowing for narrow and deep welds. One of the best ways to analyze the weld quality, using non-destructive techniques, is to combine the welding process with X-ray analyses In this regard, a high-speed Xray imaging system was used to observe the keyhole variabilities concerning the defects formation during the LW of copper sheets [11]. It was determined that the input parameters, such as laser power, scanning speed, and gas flow rate, play a key role in defining the stability of keyhole, melt-flow, and bubbles and pores generation. The authors determined that the ideal operating conditions are laser power = 2600 W, laser scanning speed = 1.5 m/min, and focal distance = 20 mm with the tensile strength = 475.112 MPa. Landowski [18] presented the results for the microstructure of laser beam-welded stainless steel under various welding conditions. A set of optimal parameters was produced in the case of LW without and with filler material based on the information generated via experimental analyses
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